After a reunion like no other, The dream team (and Lilith) of Nightwing, Arsenal, Donna Troy, Tempest, and Flash are back together to save the world from unseen forces and a futuristic wizard with a grudge against Wally West, the Flash. But at the end of the day, is this first story line a good read? Let’s find out. Please keep in mind that this is an arc review and their will be spoilers as I explain what occurrs in each issue. Also keep in mind that this book might lose you if you’re not a fan of the Teen Titans because. This is the older ones from back in the day. If you’re not previously invested in these characters it might be a turn off for you.

Now some overall things I loved about the these books. The art is phenomenal. Brett Booth has a way of drawing such beautiful characters that highlights every detail in a unique way. It doesn’t look to realistic like some artists. It’s a comic they don’t have to look like they could stand next to you in my opinion. The story as a whole leaves you wanting more. As a long-time reader of Titans books I love seeing my favorite heroes back and trying to breath life into a universe that desperately needed it after DC’s New 52. So they are a welcome return back into my stack of reading material each month. Speaking of which this series, up until this coming February, has been a monthly series. However, this February Titans is becoming a Biweekly series. Praise God because it definitely deserves its story told.

Now let’s get down to business. However we’re not defeating the Huns. We’re battling a crazy magician with fake magic.

Titans Issue 1:

This book starts off where the Rebirth issue ended. I would review the rebirth title but it’s short and theirs so much Nostalgia goodness in it that I’d be doing you an injustice by spoiling it for you. Any it begins with firstly explaining how Wally West got his new costume. Then fast forward to where the Rebirth issue ended at Nightwing’s apartment. Lilith Clay aka Omen, attempts to read Wally’s mind and discover what is going on. But in turns out that all the speedster can think about is his wife from a different universe who doesn’t know him in this one, Linda Park. Wally explains this and how in “DC Universe Rebirth” he had appeared to her and more than likely scared the crap out of her. With no leads, the team thinks on how Mammoth, a villain from “Titans Hunt” a New 52 story that brought the team other than Wally back together, had escaped and could be the key to finding out what’s going on. So Arsenal and Donna go in search of the super strong bad guy.

We then cut to the two of them at a drug house beating up addicts in search of information. Donna asks Roy (Arsenal) how he knew to look here and he exposites about how he used to be an addict. How he knew these were the guys who get information for drug money. The two get a lead on Mammoths location and return to base. This is a really a good scene because it shows team work between two old allies and highlights the past of a neglected sidekick. It gives me hope for the future of this series.

Back at the apartment, Lilith is still trying to tap into Wallys mind. She realize she’s triggered something and says they need to get to Keystone. Elsewhere a magician at a birthday party reacts to the revealing of knowledge in Flash’s subconscious. The old magician then becomes younger and thinner. Producing actual magic and saying he has returned to seek vengeance of Wally West for imprisoning him…I really hate magic

Issue 2:

We kick off with Linda Park reporter for her own website “Super News” trying to get a scoop downtown Keystone City. 6 young heroes are standing in the middle of the street. All of them ironically enough are younger versions of the Titans. Linda, recognizing Wally West, goes up to him to question him about the night they met in “DC Universe Rebirth”. He acts as if he doesn’t know her as Robin (Nightwing when he was Batman’s sidekick) says its time to go. The team begins to destroy the city. Causing damage in their wake, and as they do, the real Titans show up to combat them. The two teams engage and fighting between younger and older Titans commences. The same moves, the same style. But not the same experience.

The true older Titans begin to overpower them as the young version of Donna Troy wraps her Lasso of truth around Arsenals neck. He pleads with her to stop and she asks why. Roy cries out that he’s in love with her. Gasp! Yea no I totally was hoping for this . Roy and Donna have been old flames since the Pre New 52 universe so it was only likely they would bring it back. I mean Gasp! For them. The fake Donna drops her guard to this and Roy takes the lasso from her and ties her up. The others recommence the fighter tho in the conflict, Tempest notices a man on the building seemingly giving direction. He breaks from the fight and scales the building to confront…Mumbo Jumbo? Wait no this is the real Teen Titans villain not he dumb one from the old show. Abra Kadabra. A man from the future with a powerful piece of technology masking it as magic. He is revealed to be the puppet master. Garth (Tempest) attempts to stop him as Kadabra spouts off exposition about how revenge on the Flash will be his and he will rule the world, etc. Wally sees this and runs to the top of the building as Kadabra blasts Garth with “magic”. Wally gets there just as it hits Garth and the comic ends…OH NO!

Issue 3:

Praise God Garth’s alive. Wally was able to get him out of the way so he didn’t receive the full intensity of Kadabra’s blast. Kadabra tries to get to Flash and deliver the revenge he so desperately won’t explain when Nightwing arrives as backup. Kadabra retreats declaring that he will rule the world and that everyone should remember his name. Though frankly no one will. The Titans do damage control now that the fake Titans and their master had vanished, with Linda Park barking questions at Omen trying to get explanations. Wally attempts to talk to her but Nightwing advises against it. Arsenal, noticing the TV cameras attempts to be the public face of the Titans. Donna pulls him away before he can make a fool of himself. She then questions him about what he said about in issue 2. Roy claims it was a lie to trick the fake Donna. But as Donna walks off frustrated at the lie, Roy tells the audience indirectly that the lie, was in fact the lie. That he is in love with her.

We then cut to Kadabra and his fake Titans trying to formulate their next move. The fake Lilith, having read Wally’s mind during the fight, tells her master about Linda Park and how she is special to The Flash. Kadabra then seems confused because according to the timestream, Wally and Linda don’t meet for years. So he then forms his next plan of attack.

We then go to Wally deciding not to listen to Dick (Nightwing) and goes to make sure Linda is okay. As she demands answers about everything. Kadabra appears and kidnaps Linda ending the issue…

Issue 4:

This issue begins with the Titans arriving to the scene with Wally in tears about losing Linda to Kadabra. They get Wally back on his feet and tell him that they’ll find her, but Omen can’t get a location psychically. She then feels useless to help Wally. Nightwing consoles her. Telling her that she can’t give up. That she’s Titan for a reason. And this is where they lost me. Lilith wasn’t an original Titan. She was created in the 1990s in the teams 5th incarnation. So including her with the originals doesn’t make a whole lot of sense seeing as this book didn’t carry over the two other heroes from Titans Hunt. For the need of an extra member and a psychic she makes sense, but overall I don’t get it.

Anyway, she then tries her powers again locating the fake Titans in different locations. The team splits up in 2’s to capture them. Fighting occurs with them all being overtaken because of them fighting different Titans that weren’t their counterparts but rather each other’s. Kadabra arrives as Wally tried to save his friends and saves that Linda has been placed over a cliché vat of acid. So Flash has to choose. The love of his life, or his friends…

Issue 5:

This issue for me is very good art but not a whole lot of story. Wally calculates how much time he has before Linda falls in the acid and the fake Titans kill his friends. He then speeds off running faster than he’s ever ran before so he can do both tasks in the allotted time. The next pages are filled with amazing artwork as The Flash tries to achieve his goal. And the easy way to put it is he does. But as he reaches Linda and saves her at full velocity, he phases out of reality. Back into the “Speed Force” the place where a super speedsters draw their power from. As the issue ends he says he loves Linda and that he had to do what he had to do…

Issue 6 :

Much like the previous issue, is pretty short and sweet. Wally is in the speed force with an imaginary version for Linda. She is trying to convince him that where he is isn’t real and that he needs to go back because the world needs him. He doesn’t know how though because he doesn’t h Barry Allen Flash to pull him back this time (at this point if you still haven’t read DC universe Rebirth, I can’t help if you’re lost.) Linda tells him to think of her but forget the past universe. That theirs no way to bring back that love. And that he has to start a new. Back on earth, the rescued and heroes and Linda a are in shock at losing Wally yet again. Kadabra gloats thinking he as won.

Just then, Wally West, the fastest man in the world, returns once again. Ready to defeat thean who has claimed to have trapped him in the Speed force originally. He does this by throwing Kadabra into the speed force trapping him their. The team once again embraces one another similar to the rebirth issue. Creating feelings of love and Nostalgia in yours truly. Wally then goes over to Linda. He apologizes for all that has occurred and gets her to agree to him doing an interview to make up for it. And the day is saved. Though not without two final occurrences. As Kadabra was sent into the speed force , Omen read his mind and discovered a name. Manhattan… that’s big for the overall plot of DC Rebirth if you wanted to know. The second thing is that the comic ends with someone watching the team on Camera. The camera focuses on Wally and the viewer, Deathstroke Terminator, am old for of the Titans says “who the hell are you”…

Titans 1-6 is a kick off to what I believe is going to be one of the biggest plot points of this DC Rebirth and it’s a phenomenal story to boot. 6 returning heroes from the past with new adventures is enough for any fan of the past Teen Titans books to love dearly. Even without the nostalgia glasses on this book is a cohesive story that will have you enticed to the very end. My grading for each issue is as followed:

#1: 5/5

#2: 5/5

#3: 5/5

#4 4.5/5

#5: 4/5

#6: 5/5

As a whole this story is an amazing start. Issue 4 scored lower because solely the lack of explanation of Kadabra’s motivation and Omen’s not really needing it be apart of the team. Issue 5 score isn’t perfect. Because its mostly art, and it sends Wally back into the speed force when we just got him out. It seemed not needed to me.

But as a whole I recommend this series to long time fans and I heavily enjoyed this book. Thank you for reading and I catch you next time where I will be fully caught up and I will be reviewing issue #7!

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